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Katherine Raymer, MD, ND

Campus:

Washington

School of Naturopathic Medicine

Current Roles

Katherine Raymer is a core clinical faculty member at Bastyr Center for Natural Health, supervising students in naturopathic family medicine. She has been practicing clinical medicine for 15 years, first in conventional psychiatry (general and child and adolescent) and currently in naturopathic medicine.

Education

BA in psychology from the University of Louisville

MD from the University of Louisville School of Medicine

ND from Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine and Health Sciences

Member of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, the American Psychiatric Association and the International Society for Orthomolecular Medicine

Past Experience

Prior to joining the faculty at Bastyr , Dr. Raymer taught at Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine and Health Sciences. She was a lecturer in neurochemistry and a course director for Physical Diagnosis, Clinical Entry Assessment, Transitional and Traumatic States of Mental Health and Principles and Practice of Medical Psychology. She served as a supervising physician at the Southwest Naturopathic Medical Center (the teaching clinic of SCNM), and also worked in private practice at the clinic.

Dr. Raymer has received numerous awards, including the Stanley Walker Grubbs Memorial Award, the Sandoz Award and the John and Ruby Schwab Award. She has authored or collaborated on articles published in the Clinical Guide to Depression in Children and Adolescents and Medical Hypotheses.

Clinical Interests

Dr. Raymer's special clinical interests include general family practice and neurological and mental health. The treatment modalities she uses include nutrition and lifestyle approaches, homeopathy and botanical medicine.

Current Reserarch

The Effect of Exercise on Phthalate Ester Metabolite (PEM) Burden

Phthalates comprise one group of synthetic chemicals that are released into the environment in immense quantities. Although U.S. population samples have been found to have measurable levels of multiple phthalate metabolites, testing of the health effects of these phthalates has been limited. Phthalates are considered to be endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and as such, have been observed to underlie changes in sexual morphology, and possibly sexual behaviors. Other associations of phthalate burden with neurotoxicity have raised concerns about their effects on the aging brain.

Exercise is known to have beneficial effects on cognition and mood, and to increase the volume of gray and white matter in certain areas of the brain. The benefits of exercise are thought to be due, in part, to anti-inflammatory effects, a decrease in plasma cortisol, and increases in levels of BDNF and IGF-1. While phthalate metabolites are found in both sweat and urine in humans, sweating for most study subjects has, to date, has been induced by sauna. Given that exercise is more accessible than sauna for most individuals, this pilot study will measure levels of urinary phthalate metabolites in healthy 60-year-olds, and then assess the effect of a single exercise activity on the urinary excretion of these phthalate metabolites. Possible future studies from this pilot data could include prospective, longitudinal studies of the association of phthalate burden, cognitive function and exercise in later life.